This invention relates to a sleeve bearing pivot assembly between a pair of spaced walls which holds the walls in spaced relation to one another while permitting relative pivotal movement.
Sleeve bearings are the preferred bearing for many applications because of their reasonable cost, ease of installation, long life and load carrying capability. Light weight structures which have thin parallel load bearing walls and which need to be pivotally connected to one another on an axis transverse to the walls, present a design problem in that deflection of the walls under the load carried by the pivot joint will unevenly load a typical sleeve bearing.
The present invention provides a pivot assembly interconnecting a pair of spaced parallel thin walls which uses a sleeve bearing whose bearing surfaces are evenly loaded even though the walls deflect under the load carried by the bearing. A component of the sleeve bearing is mounted in such a manner that it changes it orientation relative to a wall when either of the walls deflect under load.